A year ago today

A month ago I was looking forward to the start of a new year because it meant I could - symbolically at least - start over fresh and hope for a better year than 2019. And it's a very low bar to be better than 2019. Only requirement is my family has to stay alive.

So 2020 should be better (I hope!), but as I'm discovering it's still going to be very painful. Because it's going to be pretty much a whole year of "A year ago today..."

A year ago today my dad had brain surgery. And came out of it unscathed, and with his sense of humor intact - he spent the following weeks talking about the hole in his head and showing off his Frankstein-look with a scary long line of staples along the side of his head!

A year ago on January 9th my dad went in for a brain scan (MRI) at a private clinic (looking into the cause of some symptoms that appeared the previous summer and got progressively worse over the fall), and the next day at doctor friend at that clinic called him and said "go straight to your the ER at your local hospital and have them admit you and get you to see a neurologist". The scan showed something in the brain that shouldn't be there, and the radiologist's expert opinion was tumor. But more studies would be needed to confirm what type exactly (although it was apparently quite clear).

A year ago on January 11th my dad was admitted to hospital and spent several weeks having tests done while neurologists, neurosurgeons and oncologists put together an attack plan. For starters relatively positive: it was in an easy place to access, minor risks for secondary effects, there was a chance it was benign...

A year ago tomorrow (or some day next week, the exact moment the initial suspicion was confirmed is lost in the fog of my mind) the neurosurgeon told us the tumor's name: glioblastoma multiforme, grade 4. Supposedly about as bad as it gets. Composed of various cell types that don't all respond to chemo in the same way. Super-fast growth. Spreads to other parts of the brain no problem... Average survival rate (or until a 2nd tumor appears, which is not always possible to remove through surgery): 2 years if it responds well to chemo/radiotherapy (with the occasional 5 year miracle case). If it doesn't? Less.

9 months later. It was over. The bastard was resistant to the chemo & radio, a scan in July showed new growth in the incision site and two new tumors in the other side of the brain. A strange crisis / tremor / spasm (to this date we still don't know how to describe it) had him back in hospital on July 29th. Home a few days later but unable to walk much without support because apparently one of the new tumors was affecting the right side of his body (hand, leg) and he needed a walker. Then a wheelchair, then no more leaving the house, then no more leaving the bed... And then

On October 23rd we'll be saying a year ago today he left us. On October 24th we said goodbye.

Will our hearts still be broken in October 2020? Oh god I hope not! But it's been 3 months and I feel worse instead of even marginally better.

Maybe one day I'll share about how wonderful everyone was last year. How much love was in our life, pouring in from around the world. But not today. Today I'm just pissed. Because a year ago today I had hope. And a year ago tomorrow I didn't.

CANCER SUCKS

Ignoring the rules when choosing favorites...

Last year my sister challenged me to complete the #challengeonnaturephotography on Facebook. The idea was to occupy FB with nature photographs. Each nominated person had to post a different nature photo for 7 days (and of course nominate someone else to take up the challenge). I got really into it and reposted the daily results here as well as on Facebook. But as I was selecting photos, I figured seven wouldn't cut it. So I chose to share two a day... for two weeks instead of one. Whoops! Carried away much? Nah! That's just me. Rules are more like guidelines, right? Do what you will with them? 😊

Earlier this month one of my Aunts tagged me in another a game on Facebook: the seven day book challenge. The idea was that for a whole week you were supposed to post a picture of the cover of one of your favorite books. No words, and no explanation (and of course challenge one of your friends). 

SEVEN days of favorite books?! How on earth could I possible choose only seven?!?!?! 

I promise I tried... I decided I'd just get up and pluck off my shelves books that immediately came to my mind as I walked around the house. The result:

TEN. 😱And if you look closely you'll notice an extra level of cheating: half of them are actually several books in a single volume! 😇 (I mean, how could I choose a single Narnia novel over another?) 😈

How about you? Ever broken the rules like this? And if not... how on earth were you able to keep the numbers down?!

Oh, and how do you like my books? (I actually ended up switching out the Little Women volume for another one I bought a few days later at the bookshop in the British Museum. Lovely hardback edition... that also includes Little Men and Jo's Boys so another 3-in-1!)

PS: I promise I'm still trying to write! This is actually my second post this week, the other was on one of my other blogs. I've decided I'm going to try and make Wednesday and Sunday evenings writing time. Depending on what I plan to write might be enough time to post something, or might need more work. And will be split between the 3 blogs... First off I need to dedicate some time to wrapping up six posts I left in draft form last summer on the Camelot/Sherwood blog! After that... fingers crossed all 3 will start coming back to life this Fall. Inch'allah.

Milestone birthdays

Why is it that we seem to mark some birthdays as more special than others? Place more significance on them? Dunno really, not even sure every culture around the world does this... And those that do, don't necessarily have the same milestones!

I guess my own mixed cultural background comes in to play here... 

The first big milestone I remember - yet didn't celebrate - was 15. I was living in Mexico then and the "Quinceañera" was a big deal! But I mostly saw that through a friend's birthday two years after mine, as my family was on holiday in the US Southwest (fabulous summer camping in the "4 Corners" area!), and I was actually in Vegas for my birthday! Perhaps if we'd been in Mexico instead of out of the country there might have been a "Quinceañera" flavoring to the celebrations? Your guess is as good as mine! And it's not like many of my friends would have been in town, they were all off on their own summer holiday (international school).

Moments that reinforce your faith in humanity

First a bit of personal context.

Once upon a time there were three crazy sisters who lived in a big old house in Mexico D.F. with a spotted dog whose tail could leave whip marks on your calves, and of course their parents. Life on weekdays was "same'old, same'old" (wake up to dog kisses, breakfast, school, homework, dinner, bed), but life on weekends was FUN! Because on weekends instead of three sisters there were four! Actually for a few years there were five, but one of them left the country with her bio-mom.

But back to the four "sisters". There were two crazy redheads, one wild curly haired sister, and then the littlest one who was crazy enough to allow one of the redheads to cut her hair one summer (to a disastrous result). For many, many years, sister number four would appear on a Friday night (or sometimes Saturday) and remain until Sunday night. So wild was that curly hair that her bio-mom would have to come by in the mornings on her way to work to tame it because her non-bio mom had no experience with crazy hair! Those weekends meant hours playing games (like hide and go seek in the dark, cops and robbers, Legos, ponies, playing dress-up even when it wasn't Halloween, bathing the dog and pups, board games... you name it!), watching scary movies (someone was a huuuuge fan of Freddy Krueger! *shudder* and someone else would insist we always watch a Disney movie after and frequently all sleep in the same room) or listening to music (someone was a huge fan of NKOTB, yes the same someone, no not me). Weekends frequently involved big lunches/dinners with lots of extra people, which meant KP duty for the four girls. Big kitchen with plenty of space? No problemo! One washed, one rinsed, one dried and one put away. Usually while reciting scenes from Mafalda or a movie or a song. Only time KP was ever considered fun. (And if you don't know Mafalda go learn Spanish and start reading asap! Only one of the best comic strips EVER!)

Result of digging through the "costume chest" a lifetime ago...

But all good things must come to an end. Notably parents' jobs in certain countries... and the three crazy sisters had to leave, while the wild curly haired sister stayed behind. There were visits, letters, calls, e-mails etc. But not quite the same is it with borders in between? But sisters will be sisters. No matter the time or distance.

For many, many, many years now this fourth "sister" of mine (you knew I was one of the redheads right?) has been living a new life near 'Frisco, getting to know her family there whom she barely knew before (that's what used to happen to families when geography got in the way, in  the pre-internet era), ever so patiently waiting for a life-saving kidney. None of her very large family was a match, and she was never ever placed at the top of the transplant list. She's spent years with regular visits to her friendly dialysis machine, having medical tests done on a regular basis, getting congratulated when she gained weight, chastised when she lost it. And unable to leave town and her dear dialysis machine behind.

Then shortly before Christmas a miracle happened! A friend of hers got tested, and was a match! And that friend said: "my kidney is your kidney". Woohoo!!! 

Kidney "sisters"

And yesterday my little "hermanita" - after having said farewell to her "dear" friend the dialysis machine - got her new kidney. She is now laying back in a hospital bed enjoying the effects of a shiny new (slightly used) kidney. And we're all over the moon for joy. And oh so thankful that someone selflessly said "Test me. Take mine. Have a new life!". 

And here it is:

Yes. This is a healthy kidney. About to be transplanted.

New life.

If you ever need something to reinforce your faith in humanity think of this story.

Now we just need our "sister" to get on a plane to Spain and get the four sisters back together, pronto! ;o) (of course that also involves bringing one in from the US and another from the UK... but the "parents" are in Alicante so Spain wins!)

Happy Birthday Nutella!!!

Apparently the fabulously delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread turns 50 today(?)! Although, as a result of all those years spent in Belgium, my current favourite spreadable guilty pleasure is Côte d'Or's Noir de Noir chocolate (dark chocolate! yummy), for years it was most definitely the chocolate-hazelnut delight that is Nutella! :o)

There's an interesting article on the origins of Nutella on the BBC website. I remember that I had no idea it was made by the Ferrero company (that's what I get for not reading labels), and that my sister and I figured it out by doing a tasting test of our own to compare Nutella with the chocolate inside the Ferrero Rochers and deciding it was the same so the same company must have made them. Just one of the many wacky things we "experimented" with growing up. :p

Something to smile about

It's been a crazy past several months, very hectic with lots of things to worry about and an insane amount of work... And it's not going to calm down until the summer. *sigh* But something that's helped, and always helps, is just finding simple little things that make you smile. Well, at least it has worked for me.

Like this afternoon in the local ice cream place, watching a boy from my neighborhood I have seen playing with the other kids in the pool downstairs these past two summers, getting an ice cream cone for a friend of his. A sweet little exchange between boy and girl that could be the beginning of something else. Adorable! :o)

Or receiving a long anticipated book in the mail... And anticipating the pleasure of cracking the cover and losing myself in the pages within.

And let's not forget the joys of not coughing after doing so for 5+ weeks non-stop! ;o)

There are lots of things to smile about you just have to stop and take a moment to notice them. And I'm going to try and remember to take a moment and share more of them here this Spring. See you around! :o)

Random (icky) Ramblings

Not to sound negative or anything... but I HATE coughing! It's painful, it's icky, it can feel paralyzing at times. On the other hand... spend 4 weeks coughing and you can be pretty sure your abs are getting a good workout! :p

I've been dealing with a stupid cough for 4 WEEKS now! Started off some silly "kiddy" cough (you know the kind "Mommy I'm sick *cough, cough*"), then the throat got more and more irritated so after several days of lots of honey in everything a trip to the doctor ensued. "Just a superficial dry cough, have some cough syrup and ibuprofen to fight the inflammation". But of course the cough evolved, got a bit deeper, coughing fits lasted a bit longer and sometimes had me folded in two hoping that when I stopped coughing my back wouldn't be frozen in that position forever. Tiny mucus droplets started getting coughed up. *sigh* So after finishing up the cough syrup it was back to the doctor. "Breathe deep. Hmm... I think I hear something in the lungs, but it's not very clear. You should go to the medical specialists building downtown and have them do an X-ray, stat! Then come back and see me -today if possible- to discuss the results." So downtown I go, spend a couple of hours waiting, get the X-ray, go back to the doc (I love the fact they can see the results online right away!) and he says "Good news: you don't have pneumonia!" Whaaat?! That was even an option?! After my mom fighting that off for 2 months I don't want to even hear that word again! "You've got some mucus in one of your lungs" okaaaay. "Here, take antibiotics for a week and an expectorant". A week of medicine later, feeling much better, but not quite there yet. But work schedule and doctor's schedule kind of get in the way of each other, so we'll wait a few more days to see if this keeps improving. But noooo, instead of continuing to get better the cough decides to get worse again! GRRRRRR!!! And now it looks like the nose wants to join in on the fiesta. BLOODY HELL!!!! FOUR STUPID WEEKS OF COUGHING AND NOW THE NOSE?!?!?!?!?!

Seems like I've got this year's fabulous viral infection, which other years is just a nasty cold, ending in a stupid cough... but this year appears to be a never-ending cough. *sigh* My body is starting to really have trouble dealing with it, so bloody tired... But on the plus side: stronger abdominal muscles! :p

Monday I start work at 1pm, guess who I'll go visit in the a.m.? Yup! My GP again! 3rd visit in 4 weeks... I'd only seen him 3 times in the past 2 years prior to this! 

*grumble, grumble*

On the blogging side of things... still quiet in CrazyCris blogging land. 8h/day of work, plus several English classes a week ('cause crazy me didn't want to "abandon" some of my students who needed help), plus trying to stay afloat with the MBA work, plus an occasional Sunday hike or movie... No time for the blogs!!! SO SORRY!!! I miss you guys tons, promise! But any obvious "free time" I have I need to reserve for the MBA work. My schedule should lighten up a bit in May (and a lot more after June), so I'll be back in full by the summer! Until then... sporadic visits. *sob*

Hope everyone is well! And not coughing up their lungs like grumpy ol' me. ;o) 

Now excuse me while I go cough some more. :o(

Fear, come and... gone?

So I haven't really written anything in over two months, have I? Well, in a way I did. This post got put together in bits and pieces during that time. Some writing, lots of deleting. Trouble finding the right words. Avoidance of a difficult topic... Lots of writing done elsewhere and not wishing to repeat it (which was the main reason for said writing in the first place, to avoid the painful repetition of the information it contained orally to a thousand and one people with constant questions).

Random ramblings: catching up with an M.I.A. CrazyCris

First of all: THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the 5th Annual World Oceans Day Oceanic Blog-A-Thon! There were some wonderful entries, and I'm so glad we could get together again to share our love for the oceans in our little corner of the blog-o-sphere! :o)

But that was almost 3 months ago... where did the time go?! :o(

And thus the title of this post. So... yeah. Sorry 'bout that! I've definitely been M.I.A. since World Oceans Day, and even for a bit before that! And sadly I don't think I'll be very active in the near future... although I promise to try!

And here's why! Good things and bad things.

Random Ramblings

• I've gotten quite a few new visitors to the blog (WELCOME!!!)... all coming over for a visit from Snug Harbor Bay because my friend Kim wrote a lovely post about me yesterday!!! Fabulous surprise! (I thought you were just going to show off the hat and scarf Kim!) One of the things I like best about blogging is all the fabulous people I've been able to "meet" through our respective blog posts and comments. It's opened the world up for me and allowed me to make new friends in a fun way! I liken it to having pen pals back in the day (I tried once or twice, never stuck), except 100 times better! I hope some day to get to meet some of my "virtual" friends in the "real" world soon (Kim -> Spain + Italy for when???), but in the meantime it's wonderful hanging out with you guys online! :o)

• For the past 36h the news has been all abuzz about the Pope's "retirement" (15' section in the news today at lunch!!!). I don't have an opinion either way, but I do seem to remember about 10 years ago people asking why Pope John Paul II didn't retire and hearing it said that popes couldn't retire! Guess they got it wrong... just 'cause no one's done it in 800 years doesn't mean it can't be done! Still, it's weird to think of a Pope retiring! But he sure looks feeble in the news images... can't be an easy "job".

• Speaking of random news items, it turns out the Brits like to bury their Kings in car parks! lol! That was all over the news last week, did you guys hear about it? Talk about an archaeological treasure hunt... and find! Richard III remains "Crookback Dick" in my mind, not thanks to Shakespeare, but because of Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Black Arrow"! That was my first intro to the King (and the War of the Roses). Fascinating (and bloody!) period of British history... Now I'm wondering: what kind of State Funeral will the British Crown give its newly found monarch? An Anglican service doesn't seem right considering he was Catholic... but I have trouble imagining the head of the Church of England presiding over a Catholic funeral service... Anyhow there's a really interesting post about the dig itself over on The History Girls, very good read!

• I've tallied up quite a few movies these past couple of weeks (damn Oscar season!), have to prep a post on them... I'm only missing Amour to wrap up the Oscar nominees for Best Picture, will try to catch that this weekend. But I'm wondering whether or not to give The Master and Flight a go to get a look at their Oscar-nominated performances... neither movie really caught my attention, but I like to see as many of the major contenders as possible before the big night... Speaking of the Oscars, how ridiculous is it that Ben Affleck wasn't even nominated for Best Director considering he's winning just about every other "best director" award out there this season? He just got the BAFTA on Sunday! (bravo!)

• *sigh* I was really hoping I'd be able to make a grand announcement about spending 6 months this summer working in Iceland... but I didn't get the job. Major bummer! Sticking with the English classes for a while longer (and every week hoping none of my students cancels on me). When is this stupid global crisis going to end and there be more opportunities for people with a biology/environmental background? Anybody know of a decent environmental education or conservation position out there? I love my students but I'm tired of teaching English!

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas! For the first time in 6 years my parents had all their daughters under the same roof at Christmas so for my family it's been very exciting!

Best wishes for the rest of the holiday season! With all the family craziness going on (my kiwi sister came with her boyfriend and one of my cousins from Virginia is here so we're going to be busy showing them around Alicante and Granada!), I'm probably going to be even more absent that usual from the blogosphere until after 12th Night! (aka Epiphany or 3 Kings Day in this part of the world!). With a bit of luck I might be able to get up a few Christmassy posts... ;o)

Happy Holidays! :o)

Home Sweet Home

Ouf! That was a crazy-scary-stressful-intense week and I am SO glad it is over!

My dad's operation went beautifully (according to the surgeons). Triple bypass using a long vein from his leg for two parts and the third, the big one, with an artery from the breast (apparently we have an artery back there we don't really need!). Doctors did it in just over 3h and my mom and I were there to see him enter the ICU right after. Was really weird seeing him all plugged in and asleep. Good thing he was asleep 'cause he had a tube sticking out of his throat and connected to a ventilator! Very freaky to see your dad in a scene straight out of House or Grey's Anatomy... He ended up spending 2 1/2 days in the ICU, drifting in and out of sleep and bored out of his mind when he was awake. We were only allowed to visit from 12h-12h30 and 18h-18h30. Not much. The first day he kind of kicked us out after 20' by saying "good night", but on the second he was cracking jokes and sharing some crazy dream about being a spy (I knew I shouldn't have taken him to see Skyfall and Argo just before all this!).

happy to be out of the ICU

Friday at noon we finally managed to break him out of the ICU (ok, we had the doctor's permission) and get him to his regular hospital room. Exciting since a) he got his glasses back, b) there was a TV -just in time for the Davis Cup final!-, c) he wasn't "plugged in" to anything anymore so could get up and move around (carefully) and d) there was an extra bed for my mom to sleep in and keep him company! :o)

His recovery has gone so well the doctors even discharged him a day early, today! Now we just need to keep an eye on him so he doesn't over-exert himself this week. His sternum needs time to knit back together after being sawed in half... Problem is he's not the most patient of patients! :p He already plans on heading off to choir practice tomorrow morning with his guitar!!! pfffffft!!!

showing my sister (via Facetime) that his guitar skills are intact

Thanks everyone for your well wishes! :o)

And in case I don't have time to stop by again (this will be another insane week running errands for my parents and cooking the main meals -including Thanksgiving dinner, a challenge!- since my dad's not allowed to), I hope everyone has a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! My family definitely has something BIG to be thankful for this year. :o)

Two VERY scary words: B----- S------

source

As in Bypass Surgery.

Anyone know anything about it? Someone who's been through it? How they did after?

My dad's going in for it today... and I've been kind of silently freaking out about it for days.

Good points: it's preventative (as in "let's fix this before it causes a problem" and "how on earth have you not had a problem yet with those coronary arteries so full of lesions?") and his heart is super strong (anybody who knows him could have told you that doc!) and everyone says (starting with him) he'll be tearing up the tennis courts again in no time.

Bad points: they're going to frakking stop his heart!!! And plug him into a machine!!! And grab some piece of vein from the leg and stick it in place of two (or three) of his coronary arteries!!! But before all that they're going to cut through his sternum with a saw and crack open his chest... NOT GOOD!!! >:(

Like I said. Freaking out.

Mother's Day Walk

Yesterday was Mother's Day here in Spain, and as usual my dad sent my sisters and me an e-mail reminding us of the date a few days before. Why the reminder? Well, as I'm sure you will have noticed when I said yesterday, it's probably not the same day you guys celebrate Mother's Day! I think it's on a different day in every single country I've lived in!!! When we were in Mexico it was May 10th (always), in the U.S. the 2nd Sunday in May... and I needed a reminder of that because my last year of high school and first two years of college I was in a different country (Mexico then Spain)! In Spain it's the 1st Sunday in May. Then when I moved to Belgium it was back to the 2nd Sunday... but my mom was in Spain so for her it was a week earlier! Plus I got confused with publicity on French TV channels (which we got in Belgium) because in France it's the last Sunday in May! My parents visited my sister in England the 2nd weekend of March... lucky coincidence turned out that Sunday was Mother's Day there! And I have absolutely no idea when Mother's Day is in New Zealand where my other sister lives! :p  All this is very confusing!

Anyhow I showed up at my parents' place with a new trio of orchids (one for each daughter).

Then we hopped in the car to go do a bit of exploring in the back country (i.e. my hiking haunts!). I chose I place I'd been curious about for a while now, only 1/2h from Alicante: an artificial reservoir with a damn built in the early 17th century! I'd been told the Pantano de Tibi is a beautiful place and the walking is easy (my mom has several frustrating health problems which don't let her do all the crazy hiking she used to love, has to take it easier now).

Four-legged furry critter, adieu.

Luna, canine elegance.

Not a good weekend. No siree. I've been trying to write this post for a couple of days now, but just couldn't seem to do it. Opening iPhoto and trying to select photos would just make me start crying all over again... as do a number of other random (or canine-related) things.

500 Wishes for the New Year

Ha! I'll bet you thought with that title I was going to spring this massive list of wishes/hopes/desires for the New Year on you, right? Don't worry, I may be one for overly long posts (sorry!), but I wouldn't put you through that! ;o)

Nope... it's just that as I was pondering on what to write now that we're on the cusp of a new year, I happened to notice that this is my 500th post! Woah! Major blogging landmark! Sure, a lot of those posts were mostly filler (like the Photo a Day I tried to do during the first half of 2011), but I think I've gotten some pretty decent stuff out there. Looking back I think I'm most proud of the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon which I hosted for World Oceans Day for the past 3 years (and will again in 2012! you've got 6 months to think on that). I'm also really happy with my Fishy Friday posts which I am determined to start up again! I need to think a bit more on their format though... should I continue telling fishy tales from the aquaria I've visited? Or should I go for a more scientific format? What do you think? Related to that, I started sharing some of my Diving adventures with you this year, as a result of my finally being able to take my own photos underwater (and you all know how much I LOVE photography!). Sadly I think I only got a couple of posts out because the Hiking posts all of the sudden demanded my attention! I have to teach these two favourite hobbies of mine to play nice with each other... and get back to the diving posts as they will remind me of the summer as we move into the coldest part of the year. Then there's been the fun of sharing some of the typical Spanish madness (like the Hogueras in Alicante) with readers from around the world! It's also been a hoot taking a trip down Christmas memory lane with you this month! It might not be over, since Christmas for me (and Spain!) doesn't end until January 6th! But the continuation of those posts will depend upon my being able to find more photos! My mom kind of lapsed in her photo album duties for a few years in the early '90s, so we have to go digging through photos in envelopes to find them! oops! :p

Hmmm... I'd better watch out or my musings on my blog's past will take over this post!

I wanted to take some time and look back on 2011, ponder my life... but my life just wouldn't give me the time to do it! These holidays have been so busy with all the celebrations and family visiting, I've barely had any time to even prepare the few classes I had to teach! Woops! So much for reflection! Even now I've just got 2h to get my overnight bag packed, get a shower and get dressed etc. before I head out to my parents' for a low-key New Year's Eve dinner with some neighbours. After the clock in the Plaza del Sol in Madrid strikes the twelve gongs of midnight and we eat our twelve grapes (for good luck in the new year), I'll be heading out to the next town over to meet up with my friends for a night of FIESTA!!! Which will end with me snoozing on a friend's couch so I don't have to worry about driving home in the wee morning with all the other people who shouldn't be driving either... All this has been put together in a bit of a last-minute rush... none of us had any plans other than family dinners... but a few days ago someone proposed meeting up tonight and we all just woke up and said YES!!! I'm doubly happy because it gave me an excuse to get myself a Christmas gift from my grandmother (she always gives her grandkids some money to spend on themselves), a lovely dress I've been eyeing for the past month. Each time I went into the Corte Inglés looking for a Christmas present for someone else that dress would just call to me, and I was like "no! I'm not going out this year, I don't have an excuse to buy a new dress!". Well, now I do! And I did! :o)  (to be fair on myself, I only buy a nice dress like this once every 2-3 years. The previous one has done one New Year's Eve and 2-3 weddings). Want a glimpse?

Still can't believe this redhead is going to wear RED tonight! :p

So, no thinking or contemplating or reflection for me tonight... except when I lose myself in the music. Which I love doing and haven't in months!

One thing I did read today has caught my attention... Kim at Snug Harbor mentioned being inspired by a friend to think of a word for the New Year, instead of a list of Resolutions. The idea is to let that word guide you throughout the new year (I found another post online explaining it very clearly here, very interesting!). I've been pondering two candidates which just seemed to cry out to me: discipline and letting go. The first as in self-discipline, I know what I have to do to get my life back on track, both personally and professionally, but I seem to be lacking the self-discipline to actually do anything about it... But I also need to learn to let go of the clutter in my life (both physical and emotional baggage). This is something that is very hard for me to do. But I did knock one thing to the side of the road this year and I felt so much lighter after and I haven't regretted it once! I'll think on both some more. Not now, I now only have 90' left to get ready! oops! :p

As for the world ending in 2012... I share this:

Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :o)

Christmas Feasting and Playing

December 28th... a day for hearing really weird things on the news... things that you should double (and triple!) check before you believe them! For example: Iker Casillas - star goalkeeper and captain of the Real Madrid and Spain's World and European Champion National Football team - announced that he was retiring from football. YIKES!!! I heard it on the radio, he announced it on his Facebook profile, it must be true! Regular news broadcast on TV at lunch time... and the sports section starts with the presentation of Spain's new Davis Cup (tennis) Captain: Alex Corretja (yay!). Not a word about football? In this country? Impossible! So what about that massive news flash I heard on the radio?! FOOLED YOU!!! 

December 28th is the Día de los Santos Inocentes in Spain. Traditionally it's the Day of the Holy Innocents in the Catholic Church, in honour of the children massacred in Bethlehem by Herod's order (with Mary, Joseph and Jesus just barely escaping to Egypt). But in Spanish an "inocente" is also what you call someone who is naive, easy to fool or trick. So this day has become the equivalent of "April Fool's Day" in Spain and Latin America! Not so much tricks as fake funny news and jokes. Or sticking a white paper doll on someone's back. In any case, don't believe anything you hear until you've verified it! :p

Today was also the 4th Day of Christmas, and in my family the 3rd day of leftovers! Or is it 4th meal? I've lost count! My Dad totally overdid it this year with the feasts... I think he's loosing his sense of proportion... Not that I'm complaining, Christmas leftovers are the best kind!

It all started on Christmas Eve with the crazy 15 kg (33lb) turkey my Dad had ordered (to be fair he asked for "at least 10kg", just got more than expected)... for 6 people! (the 2 year old doesn't eat enough to count) I think it was even bigger than my niece! But at least it gave my Dad a chance to show off his fancy new oven he's been smiling about for the past 6 months! :p

Christmas Trip Down Memory Lane: the mid '80s

I've been trying to divide up these Memory Lane posts thematically... the "just me" years, the "Saudi years", but I've found so few photos from the 4 year period in the mid-'80s (specially Xmas 86 and 87, there have to be more photos somewhere!) that it seemed a bit silly to split them up!

We start with Christmas 1984, our first back in the U.S., when we were living in Potomac, Maryland (my dad worked in D.C.), only an hour and a half away from my Grandmother in Purcelville, VA and my Uncle, Aunt and cousins in Leesburg, VA. So that means big family Christmas at last! Well, for Christmas Day -American style-, since we still had our big meal just us on Christmas Eve -Spanish style-. I think it's the first year I went carolling -around our neighbourhood, with my dad playing the guitar-

Christmas Trip Down Memory Lane: the early '80s

The early '80s were the "Saudi Years"... celebrating the season half a world away from family, in a place where Christmas isn't even a holiday! They were also the years during which our family kept growing, giving me two younger sisters to tease and torment (and take care of) for the rest of our lives. ;o)

So we start with Christmas 1980 in Riyadh, when I discovered that Christmas trees came out of a box and had to be assembled!

You remember that "intruder alert" I mentioned in the previous Christmas post? Well here's the result of that big "bump", another bright little redhead (who to this day still sighs whenever she sees pictures of her "Dumbo" ears!):

Christmas Trip Down Memory Lane: the '70s

Care to join me as I latch on to the Ghost of Christmas past and visit my past Christmases while I prepare for the jolly season?

Let's start at the very beginning (after all, it's a very good place to start!):

Yeah, I know... you can't see me anywhere in there, right? Well look again! But with an ultrasound this time! (it seems they were already "in the know" having recently gone to the doctor to check up on a little "constipation" problem...) ;o)  They fled north to spend the holidays with the family in Virginia, apparently fed up of the "fake Christmas trees" on the grass in Panama... :p

On to my first full Christmas experience... rocking the bell-bottoms in Virginia (visiting from Minneapolis)!